MTD 1438 manual

MTD LL C, P .O . BO X 36 1 1 3 1 CLEVEL AND , OH IO 44 1 36 - 00 1 9 Print ed In US A Safe Ope ration Practices • Set- Up • Operation • Maintena nce • Service • T rou bleshooti ng • W arranty WA R N I N G READ AND F OLL OW A LL SA FETY RULES AND INS TRUCTIONS IN THIS MA NUA L BEFORE A T TEMPTING T O OPERA TE THIS MA CHINE . F AIL URE TO[...]

Customer S uppor t Please do NOT return the machine to the retaile r or deale r without fir st c ontacting o ur Customer Suppor t De partme nt. If you ha ve difficulty ass embl ing thi s p rodu ct or ha ve an y qu esti ons reg ard ing the co ntr ols, oper ati on, or m ain ten anc e o f this machine , you can seek he lp from the exper ts. Choose f r[...]

Im por tan t Saf e Opera ti on Pr ac ti ce s 2 3 General Operation Read, un derst and, and fo llow all instruc tions on the 1 . machine an d in the manual(s ) befo re attemptin g to assembl e and oper ate. K ee p this manual in a safe p lace for future an d regular refe rence and for ord ering repla cement par ts. Be famili ar with all controls and[...]

4 s e c t i O n 2 — i M p O r t a n t s a f e O p e r a t i O n p r a c t i c e s A missing or damag ed discharge cover can c ause blade 1 2. contac t or thrown obje ct injuries . Stop the blade ( s) when crossing gravel drives, w alks , or 1 3. roads an d while not cut ting grass. Watch for traf fi c when ope rating near or crossin g 1 4. roadw [...]

5 s e c t i O n 2 — i M p O r t a n t s a f e O p e r a t i O n p r a c t i c e s Children T ra gic accidents c an occur if the op erator is not aler t to the 1 . presen ce of children. Childre n are ofte n attrac ted to the machine an d the mowing ac tivit y . They d o not under stand the dange rs. Never assume th at children will remain w here [...]

6 s e c t i O n 2 — i M p O r t a n t s a f e O p e r a t i O n p r a c t i c e s Periodic ally check to make sure the b lades come to 3. complete s top within approxim ately (5 ) f ive seconds af ter oper ating the blad e disengagem ent control. If the b lades do not sto p within the this time f rame, your machine should b e ser viced prof essio[...]

7 s e c t i O n 2 — i M p O r t a n t s a f e O p e r a t i O n p r a c t i c e s Safet y S ymbols This pa ge depic ts and des cribes sa fet y symbo ls that may appear on this pro duc t. Read, und erst and, and foll ow all instruc tions on the machine b efore at tempting to assembl e and oper ate. Sy m b o l Descript ion READ T HE OPERA TOR’S M[...]

8 s e c t i O n 2 — i M p O r t a n t s a f e O p e r a t i O n p r a c t i c e s Sight and hold this level with a vertical tree... or a corner of a building... or a fence post Fold along dotted line (represents a 15° slope) 15° Use this page as a guide t o determine slopes where you ma y not operate safely . WA R N I N G ! Do n ot opera te yo [...]

Assem bly & Set -U p 3 9 T rac tor Set -Up NOTE: T his Operator s Manual covers a rang e of produc t speci fic ations for vari ous models . Characte ristics an d features discusse d and/ or illus trated in this manual may not b e applicab le to all mode ls. MTD LLC reser ves the right to change p roduc t speci fic ations, designs and e quipment[...]

10 s e c t i O n 3 — a s s e M b l y & s e t -u p Attaching The Seat If the se at for your trac tor was not at tached at th e fac tory, follow the appli cable instr uctio ns below to at tach it. NOTE: For ship ping reasons, s ome seats are n ot atta ched at the fac tor y . If this is the c ase, free the s eat from its s hipping positio n and [...]

11 s e c t i O n 3 — a s s e M b l y & s e t -u p Note : See the At tachments & Accessor ies sec tion if you woul d like informatio n regarding ad ding a mulching sy stem for your mode l of trac tor . Tire Pressure W ARN ING! Ma ximum tire pressure un der any circumstan ces is 30 psi. Equal tire pressure should b e maintaine d at all time[...]

Figur e 4 - 1 Spe ed Cont rol & Park ing Brake L ever Amme ter (On som e mode ls) Clut ch/Bra ke Pedal Shi ft Leve r Thro tt le/Choke Lever Dec k Lif t Lever PTO (Bl ade En gage) Lever Ign itio n Switch Module Choke K nob (On som e mode ls) C ont rols a nd F ea ture s 4 12 Lawn T rac tor controls and fe atures are illustrated in Fig 4 - 1 and d[...]

Throttle Control Lev er The throt tle control l ever is located on t he right side of the trac tor’s dash panel . This lever controls the sp eed of th e engine and, on s ome mode ls, when push ed all the way for ward, th e choke control also. Wh en set in a given p osition, the throt tle will maintain a unif orm engine sp eed. S ee Fig. 4 - 2 . I[...]

T o sto p the engine, turn th e ignition key counterclock wise to th e OFF position . See Fig. 4 -3B. Ignition S witch Module T o st art t he engine, inser t the key into the igniti on switch and turn clo ckwis e to the ST AR T position. R elease the key into the NOR MAL MOWING MO DE position o nce the engine has f ired . The headlight s will be ac[...]

Operation 5 15 Safet y Int erlock Switches This tra ctor is equ ipped wi th a safet y interlock s ystem for th e protec tion of the o perator. If the interlock s ystem shoul d ever malfun ction , do not ope rate the trac tor . Cont act an auth orized MTD ser vi ce dealer . The s afet y interlock s ystem prevents th e engine fro m • crank ing or s[...]

16 s e c t i O n 5 — O p e r a t i O n Once ac tivated 4. (indicator light ON) , t he trac tor can be driven in rever se with the cut ting blad es (PTO ) engaged. Always loo k down and be hind befor e and while back ing to 5. make sure no children are a round. Af ter resuming for ward moti on, return the key to the 6. NOR MAL MOWING po sition. IM[...]

17 s e c t i O n 5 — O p e r a t i O n Driving The T rac tor W ARN ING! Avoid sudden s tar ts, excessive spe ed and sudde n stops. W ARN ING! Do n ot leave the seat of the trac tor withou t fir st placing the P TO (Blade Engage) lever in the disen gaged (OFF) positio n, depressing th e brake ped al and engaging th e parkin g brake. If leaving the[...]

18 s e c t i O n 5 — O p e r a t i O n Mowi ng W ARN ING! T o h elp avoid blade conta ct or a thrown obje ct injur y , keep bys tander s, helper s, children an d pets at leas t 7 5 fee t from the machi ne while it is in o peration . S top machin e if anyone enters the a rea. The fo llowing infor mation will be h elpful whe n using the cut ting de[...]

Maintenance W ARN ING! Be fore per for ming any maintenance or repair s, disengag e PTO , move shif t lever into neut ral positio n, set park ing brake, stop e ngine and remove key to prevent unintended s tar ting. Engine Refe r to the Engine Op erator /Owner M anual for engin e maintenance instr uctio ns. Check en gine oil level be fore each use a[...]

Cleaning Ba t tery Clean the b atter y by removing it f rom the trac tor and wash ing with a bak ing soda a nd water solutio n. If necess ary, scrape the bat ter y terminals with a wire br ush to remove deposit s. Coat terminals and e xpose d wiring with gr ease or petro leum jelly to prevent corrosion . Batter y F ailures Some comm on causes for b[...]

Side to S ide If the cut ting de ck appear s to be mowing unevenl y , a side to sid e adjustm ent can be pe rfo rmed. Adjus t if necessa ry as fo llows: With the t ractor p arked on a f irm, level sur face, pla ce the 1. deck lif t lever in th e second fr om the top notch (sec ond highest position) and rotate both bla des so that they are per pendi[...]

Maintena nce Schedule Before Each u se Ever y 10 Hours Ever y 25 Hour s Ever y 50 Hour s Ever y 100 Hour s Prior to Storing Clean Ho od/Da sh Louver s P P Chec k Engine Oi l Level P P Chec k Air Filter for D irt y , Loos e or Damage d Part s P Clean a nd Re-oi l Air Filter ’ s Foa m Pre-c leaner P Replace Ai r Filter Element P Chang e Engine Oil [...]

Ser vice 7 23 Ser vice 7 23 On 38” D eck s: Lookin g at the cuttin g deck fro m the lef t 5. side of the t ractor, locate the bow -tie pin that se cures the deck supp or t rod on the rear l ef t side of the de ck. Se e Fig. 7 - 2. Re move the bow-tie pi n that secures the d eck suppor t rod, an d carefully r emove the deck supp or t from the de c[...]

24 s e c t i O n 7 — s e r v i c e 24 s e c t i O n 7 — s e r v i c e Caref ully remove the PTO cab le from the rea r of the 9 . cut ting deck by rem oving the hair pin clip whi ch secures it. Remove the spr ing from the d eck idler br acket. See Fig . 7 -5 Gently s lide the cut ting deck 1 0. (from the lef t sid e) out f rom under neath the tr[...]

25 s e c t i O n 7 — s e r v i c e 25 s e c t i O n 7 — s e r v i c e Jump S tar ting W ARN ING! Never jump s tar t a damaged o r frozen bat ter y . Be cer tain t he vehicles do not tou ch, and ignitions are o ff. Do not all ow cable clamps to touch . Connec t positive ( 1 . + ) cable to p ositive post ( + ) of your trac tor’s discharged b at[...]

26 s e c t i O n 7 — s e r v i c e 26 s e c t i O n 7 — s e r v i c e NOTE: Wh en replacing th e blade, be sure to ins tall the blad e with the side of th e blade marke d ‘‘Bot tom’’ (or with a par t number stamp ed in it) facin g the ground whe n the mower is in the oper ating position . CAUTION: Use a torq ue wrench to tighten the bla[...]

27 s e c t i O n 7 — s e r v i c e 27 s e c t i O n 7 — s e r v i c e Figur e 7 - 9 Dec k Idl er Pulley Eng ine Pull ey Idl er Brac ket 38- Inch Deck Figur e 7 - 1 0 42 & 46-Inch Deck[...]

Problem Cause Remedy Engi ne fai ls t o start PTO /Blade engaged. 1. Spark plu g wire disconnec ted. 2. Fuel tank empt y , or st ale fue l. 3. Choke not ac tivated. 4. F ault y spark plu g. 5. Blocke d fuel line. 6. Engine f looded. 7. Parking b rake not engage d 8. Thro ttle con trol lever not in c orrect starting 9. position . Pla ce knob ( or le[...]

NOTE: T his Operator s Manual covers a rang e of produc t speci fic ations for vario us models . Character istics and f eatures discussed and/or illustrated in this ma nual may not be applic able to all mod els. MTD LLC reser ves the right to chang e produc t specif icati ons, designs and e quipment with out notice and with out incurring o bligatio[...]

The following at tachm ents and acc essories are c ompatible for M odel Serie s 700 Lawn T ractors. S ee the retailer from w hich you purcha sed your tractor , an authorized MTD Ser vic e Dealer or phon e (8 00 ) 800 - 73 1 0 for informatio n regarding pr ice and availabili ty . CAUTION: M odel S eries 700 Lawn T rac tors are NOT designe d for use [...]

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